as in joining
to become a friend to (someone)
He befriended the new student.
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Recent Examples of befriending
Living in Rio de Janeiro, Luiza dreams of being an artist, eventually befriending a local graffiti group.
—
Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 16 June 2026
Dogs did it at least 14,000 years ago, discovering that befriending garbage-producing humans resulted in tastier, more abundant scraps and less arduous lives on their own.
—Shoshi Parks, Popular Science, 10 June 2026
Utterback, who’d just gotten married and bought a house in Omaha, instead devoted himself to learning on his own, poring over books, making regular trips to Japan, and befriending masters of the craft.
—Hannah Goldfield, New Yorker, 8 June 2026
Palmer-Tomkinson was friends with both William and Prince Harry, befriending them in childhood.
—Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 29 May 2026
Conrad Weiser was a Pennsylvania German who had roamed the frontier for decades, learning the Indian languages and befriending Indian leaders, including some who encountered Washington in Ohio.
—Literary Hub, 20 May 2026
Things take a turn when Snow, 40, who plays Sophie, moves to Texas and tries befriending the group of East Texas socialites — only for a teen girl named Abby to turn up dead.
—Lexi Lane, PEOPLE, 10 May 2026
Beyond the Artforum ads, Bischofberger also made a significant contribution to the trajectory of contemporary art, personally befriending artists such as Francesco Clemente, Julian Schnabel, and Andy Warhol and even transforming their practices along the way.
—Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 9 May 2026
This approach involves befriending the zeros inside large AI models.
—Olivia Hsu, IEEE Spectrum, 28 Apr. 2026
Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 16 June 2026
Dogs did it at least 14,000 years ago, discovering that befriending garbage-producing humans resulted in tastier, more abundant scraps and less arduous lives on their own.
—Shoshi Parks, Popular Science, 10 June 2026
Utterback, who’d just gotten married and bought a house in Omaha, instead devoted himself to learning on his own, poring over books, making regular trips to Japan, and befriending masters of the craft.
—Hannah Goldfield, New Yorker, 8 June 2026
Palmer-Tomkinson was friends with both William and Prince Harry, befriending them in childhood.
—Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 29 May 2026
Conrad Weiser was a Pennsylvania German who had roamed the frontier for decades, learning the Indian languages and befriending Indian leaders, including some who encountered Washington in Ohio.
—Literary Hub, 20 May 2026
Things take a turn when Snow, 40, who plays Sophie, moves to Texas and tries befriending the group of East Texas socialites — only for a teen girl named Abby to turn up dead.
—Lexi Lane, PEOPLE, 10 May 2026
Beyond the Artforum ads, Bischofberger also made a significant contribution to the trajectory of contemporary art, personally befriending artists such as Francesco Clemente, Julian Schnabel, and Andy Warhol and even transforming their practices along the way.
—Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 9 May 2026
This approach involves befriending the zeros inside large AI models.
—Olivia Hsu, IEEE Spectrum, 28 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for befriending
Verb
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Brown amassed a 107-88 record over two-plus seasons with the Kings, joining Rick Adelman as the only coaches in the Sacramento era to post a winning record.—
Jason Anderson,
Sacbee.com,
14 June 2026
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Some guests are familiar with the ceremony, readily joining in the Pledge of Allegiance and national anthem.—
Eve Chen,
USA Today,
14 June 2026
Verb
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Prosecutors say Wilburn was traveling about 100 mph on Cherry Valley Boulevard with lights and sirens activated, responding to a report of a shooting.—
Ruben Vives,
Los Angeles Times,
19 June 2026
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Drivers are reminded to exercise patience, remain attentive and use caution while traveling through the area.—
Staff Report,
Hartford Courant,
19 June 2026
Verb
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There is an underground tunnel connecting the main hotel and the lobby/restaurant building, which makes navigating the area much easier in a wheelchair or for those looking to avoid a cold (but quick) commute.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
17 June 2026
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The challenge is connecting human language and visual understanding with the motor actions required to interact with the physical world.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
17 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Befriending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/befriending. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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